1. Field of the Invention
Articles and methods consistent with the present invention relate to woven textiles.
2. Description of Related Art
Woven fabrics and knitted fabrics, as a general rule, have very different qualities. Woven fabrics such as denim gabardine, poplin, and others tend to be stable, but more rigid than knitted fabrics, and therefore do not drape well over a figure. Knitted fabrics are flexible, stretch in both the vertical and horizontal direction even if inelastic yarns are used, and drape well over the body.
Denim, an indigo dyed woven fabric, has enjoyed popularity in the fashion industry at least partly due to the ring dyeing process used in creating the indigo yarns. In general, indigo dye is located close to the surface of the yarns, leaving the core of the yarn undyed. Because the dye is located at the surface of the yarns, denim fabrics fade differently than fabrics made from non-ring dyed yarns. Additionally, different finishing techniques can be applied to denim to take advantage of these ring dyed yarns. For example, denim can be hand scraped, sand blasted, stone washed, or treated in other ways that allow varying amounts of the undyed cores of the indigo yarns to become visible. The effects created through these treatments have made denim a popular and fashionable fabric in the clothing and textile industries.
Due to denim's woven nature, it has rarely been used for tops, such as shirts, blouses and sweatshirts. On the other hand, knit indigo fabrics have failed to become popular due the expense necessary to create them. For example, to create a knit fabric, the yarns used must be wound on a bobbin. This is an expensive, additional step needed to create knitted indigo fabrics. Some have attempted to dye fabrics with indigo after knitting has taken place, but this too comes with problems. Dyeing after knitting is difficult to control due to the elastic nature of the fabric. Furthermore, both sides of the fabric end up dyed with indigo which can lead to staining if the person wearing the fabric sweats. Still others have tried dying the knitting yarns with indigo while on the bobbin, but this too gives unsatisfactory results.